The younger brother of former Kings Cross nightclub owner John Ibrahim has walked free from a courtroom after being handed a suspended jail sentence for money laundering.
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Fadi Ibrahim, 50, was on Friday handed a 14-month suspended sentence in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court, ending an eight-year legal tussle over his alleged role in a tobacco-smuggling plot.
He pleaded guilty in 2022 to a charge of dealing with property reasonably suspected of being proceeds of crime after being arrested in Dubai in 2017 during co-ordinated raids in three countries into two syndicates.
The case revolved around a $800,000 loan by Ibrahim to his brother, Moustafa "Michael" Ibrahim, allegedly linked to the illegal tobacco trafficking plot.
Fadi Ibrahim received $600,000 back from his brother via intermediaries.
In handing down his sentence, Judge Chris O'Brien took into account that the offender had no involvement in the "underlying criminal conduct" involving his brother Michael.
Rather, Judge O'Brien found he advanced the money to his brother out of "familial generosity" with no awareness of what would be done with it.
The judge said he could not determine that the money Fadi Ibrahim received was actually the proceeds of crime as prosecutors had failed to establish that claim.
He said the father-of-two had good prospects of rehabilitation and that "there is no suggestion of further offending".
Judge O'Brien also took into account the effects on the offender of injuries sustained when he was shot in June 2009, with the court hearing he lived with chronic pain and suffered depression and insomnia.
Fadi Ibrahim and his brother Michael were accused of plotting to murder John Macris after allegedly holding him responsible for the 2009 shooting.
A conspiracy to murder charge against Fadi Ibrahim was later dropped, while Michael was acquitted at trial.
On Friday, the court was told Fadi Ibrahim had become addicted to OxyContin - a pain medication - after recovering from the life-threatening injuries, which was among subjective factors taken into consideration.
Judge O'Brien also factored in the offender's guilty plea and the delay in finalising the matter, which had led to a "state of uncertainty" for years.
Fadi Ibrahim was released immediately and ordered to enter into a recognisance on the condition that he be of good behaviour for three years.
He was also ordered to provide a $5000 surety.
Michael Ibrahim was previously jailed for 25 years for his role in the tobacco-smuggling syndicate and conspiring to import almost two tonnes of illegal drugs.
Australian Associated Press
